Alsip trustees voted tonight to join JAWA

The Trustees' voted tonight to go into a long term inter governmental agreement to bring water in from Indiana. Call your Trustee and get all the facts straight from them. This sounds like a Toyota Park sweet heart deal.

Why all the secrecy, the meetings are not on cable t.v. The taxpayers of Alsip are paying thirty percent of the cost of this study. How much is Robbins, Harvey, and Dolton paying?

Midlothian, Harvey, Robbins, Markham, Blue Island, Calumet Park and Alsip formed the South Suburban Joint Action Water Agency, that will issue $5.6 million in bonds to begin the feasibility study failed to consult with an investment manager before signing the contract. Was herd mentality manipulated and implemented? What individual would sign a contract before throughly reviewing and understanding all of the contracts terms?

This is the first we heard of this! The three men representing the jawa at last nights meeting were not acting in the best interest of Alsip residents. They were there to promote themselves and this very costly project. Alsip Trustee's must do their research, or this might be our Toyota Park.

I agree stop JAWA now. One of the leaders of this project is a guy named Joseph Letke who owns Letke & Associates which is an accounting firm. Letke & Associates are the financial advisors for JAWA and Letke is behind the $5.6 million feasbile study cost. Letke & Associates is currently being sued by the City of Country Club Hills for $130k concerning the 2010 audit. Also, Joe Letke just filed for bankruptcy both personally and through his firm, Letke & Associates. Citizens of the south suburbs confront your mayors and tell them, hell no with this JAWA project.

Marilyn Cohen, president and chief executive officer of Envision Capital Management, says investors are keeping a close watch on the growing number of municipal bankruptcies. Cohen talked to Kathleen Hays and Courtney Donohoe on "The Hays Advantage" on Bloomberg Radio on July 17, 2012.

jerry wrote:

I agree stop JAWA now. One of the leaders of this project is a guy named Joseph Letke who owns Letke & Associates which is an accounting firm. Letke & Associates are the financial advisors for JAWA and Letke is behind the $5.6 million feasbile study cost. Letke & Associates is currently being sued by the City of Country Club Hills for $130k concerning the 2010 audit. Also, Joe Letke just filed for bankruptcy both personally and through his firm, Letke & Associates. Citizens of the south suburbs confront your mayors and tell them, hell no with this JAWA project.

If you thought the project was fishy before it's really starting to stink.

http://business-bankruptcies.com/cases/letke-...

None of you posting sound like Alsip Residents. Alsip is in great shape financially and will not be held hostage by the City of Chicago and their ever increasing water rates! Alsip has a divided Village Board and it passed with bi-partisan support! It's done, it's law now, get the hell over it! We are not Bridgeview and this is not Toyota Park!!!!

Alsip Resident wrote:

None of you posting sound like Alsip Residents. Alsip is in great shape financially and will not be held hostage by the City of Chicago and their ever increasing water rates! Alsip has a divided Village Board and it passed with bi-partisan support! It's done, it's law now, get the hell over it! We are not Bridgeview and this is not Toyota Park!!!!

Obviously you do not have a copy of or understand the agreement that was passed, or are you unaware the advisor for SSJAWA is Letke & Associates.

Alsip Resident wrote:

None of you posting sound like Alsip Residents. Alsip is in great shape financially and will not be held hostage by the City of Chicago and their ever increasing water rates! Alsip has a divided Village Board and it passed with bi-partisan support! It's done, it's law now, get the hell over it! We are not Bridgeview and this is not Toyota Park!!!!

It's not done.
The $5.6 million is for the SSJAWA study.
By completion the JAWA will be at least $200 million more!

The municipalities involved may never recover financially and will continue to pay for the bonds long after these mayors are gone.

Denial wrote:

<quoted text>
If you thought the project was fishy before it's really starting to stink.
http://business-bankruptcies.com/cases/letke-...

WOW!
Has Letke & Associates been identified as the third party;
where JAWA bond payments will go?

jerry wrote:

I agree stop JAWA now. One of the leaders of this project is a guy named Joseph Letke who owns Letke & Associates which is an accounting firm. Letke & Associates are the financial advisors for JAWA and Letke is behind the $5.6 million feasbile study cost. Letke & Associates is currently being sued by the City of Country Club Hills for $130k concerning the 2010 audit. Also, Joe Letke just filed for bankruptcy both personally and through his firm, Letke & Associates. Citizens of the south suburbs confront your mayors and tell them, hell no with this JAWA project.

Interesting.

Denial wrote:

<quoted text>
WOW!
Has Letke & Associates been identified as the third party;
where JAWA bond payments will go?

Honorable Mayor Kitching, we must not have JAWA.

old friend wrote:

<quoted text>
Honorable Mayor Kitching, we must not have JAWA.

Honorable Mayor Kitching promoted the jawa without verifying or vetting anyone...
Say Good Bye to your little friends,$,$$,$$$,

jerry wrote:

I agree stop JAWA now. One of the leaders of this project is a guy named Joseph Letke who owns Letke & Associates which is an accounting firm. Letke & Associates are the financial advisors for JAWA and Letke is behind the $5.6 million feasbile study cost. Letke & Associates is currently being sued by the City of Country Club Hills for $130k concerning the 2010 audit. Also, Joe Letke just filed for bankruptcy both personally and through his firm, Letke & Associates. Citizens of the south suburbs confront your mayors and tell them, hell no with this JAWA project.

It is impossible that none of the elected officials knew anything!
If that is the case, all of the trustees, aldermen, and mayors
who voted for or promoted the JAWA to move forward need to go,
NOT just a select few!

Alsip Resident wrote:

None of you posting sound like Alsip Residents. Alsip is in great shape financially and will not be held hostage by the City of Chicago and their ever increasing water rates! Alsip has a divided Village Board and it passed with bi-partisan support! It's done, it's law now, get the hell over it! We are not Bridgeview and this is not Toyota Park!!!!

Welcome to your Nightmare! A brand new facility in Indiana is experiencing problems with their intake valves becoming clogged causing them to be unable to maintain output, there is one other small matter.
When will your check be ready for pick up?
Glenwood firm, auditor declare bankruptcy
BY CASEY TONER ctoner@southtownstar.com July 20, 2012 10:50PM
A Glenwood auditing firm that does business with Monee, Riverdale, Harvey and other municipalities recently declared bankruptcy, claiming it is millions of dollars in debt, court records show.
Letke & Associates filed for bankruptcy in June in Chicago, claiming more than $9.7 million in outstanding debts as well as listing pending lawsuits that are seeking millions of dollars in damages.
The owner of the firm, Joseph T. Letke Jr., declared personal bankruptcy in May, claiming $2.8 million in assets and $25 million in liabilities.
Among other debts, the firm claimed it owed $8,429 in credit card payments to Dell Business; $30,000 to Dell Computer Corp.; $44,000 to Canon Financial Services for furniture; $40,000 to Martin Whalen Office Solutions for a copier; $100,000 to the Internal Revenue Service for payroll taxes and $54,000 to Ascension Capital Group for a 2010 BMW sedan, according to court records.
Cezary and Eva Jakubowski filed a lawsuit against the firm claiming they are owed $4 million, and Rob Carlson and Mark Carlson also claim they are owed $4 million by the company. Old Second National Bank of Aurora said the firm owes it $70,000 for a broken lease, among other allegations, court records show.
Also listed in the documents is a lawsuit the City of Country Club Hills filed against the auditor in Cook County Circuit Court, claiming the city paid Letke & Associates $130,380 in June 2011 to perform an audit, but the firm never completed the work and delayed responding to the city, citing personal and health problems, the lawsuit says.
Country Club Hills attorney John Murphey said Letke’s bankruptcy filing leaves the outcome of the city’s lawsuit in the hands of the bankruptcy court.
Letke did not respond to multiple messages left by the SouthtownStar seeking comment.
Several municipalities that employ the firm were unaware of its financial troubles, including Harvey, where Letke & Associates served as the comptroller.
“These are tough economic times where businesses are suffering globally and it is unfortunate that Mr. Letke is experiencing economic hardships,” Harvey Mayor Eric Kellogg wrote in a statement.“We ... hope that this will afford Letke & Associates the opportunity to reorganize and restructure the business and continue to provide the city with exceptional services.”
Monee village administrator David Wallace said the company provides audits for the village.
“Who wouldn’t be concerned at this point?” Wallace said recently when he learned of the suit.
Letke & Associates also is helping with a study that Calumet Park, Robbins, Harvey, Alsip, Markham, Midlothian and Blue Island are conducting to determine the feasibility of getting Lake Michigan water from Whiting, Ind. Letke still is doing the bookkeeping for the Joint Action Water Agency, Midlothian Mayor Terry Stephens said Friday.
In his personal bankruptcy filing, Letke claimed he owes $3.5 million to Archer Bank for a loan for an apartment complex in Glenwood; $896,080 to Old Second National Bank for a loan on a house in Frankfort; $1.9 million to MB Financial Bank for a loan for Florida property; $11 million to MB Financial bank for a loan for a property in New Buffalo, Mich.; and $100,000 in back child support.

This vote passed in Alsip by a margin of 5-1.
The only dissenting trustee was Jim McGreal.

Denial wrote:

<quoted text>
Honorable Mayor Kitching promoted the jawa without verifying or vetting anyone...
Say Good Bye to your little friends,$,$$,$$$,

Trustee Ryan told everyone at the July 2nd meeting, that Mayor Kitching is on the JAWA Board of Ditectors and although he attended all of the JAWA meetings, he never held a committee meeting to discuss the endevour. Kitching never sold the product and the JAWA Board should be disappointed that the Mayor only stuffed the info into the Trustees mailboxes. Then the Mayor tried to pass blame onto the Water Committee Chairman Ryan. The following week Trustee John Ryan puts the ordinance on the adgenda and the Village Board approves the feasibility study, with no help from the Mayor again. How many hours does that Mayor pick his nose all day?

Mayor Kitching has a sentimental interest in this JAWA controversy but not the credentials to evaluate it. There are way to many shady people involved in this scam.